Down on Washington, Up on Local

Ten years ago, about two-thirds of Americans felt favorably about all three levels of government—federal, state, and local. Approval of the federal government has since plummeted, from 64 percent in 2002 to just 33 percent today, according to an April Pew survey. The sharpest declines in federal approval occurred from 2003 to 2005 and from 2010 to 2012.…